Man jailed 18 months for slashing son

SINGAPORE: In a rash act to stop his son, who has special needs, from quarrelling with his sister, the man swung a chopper at the teenager.

On Wednesday, Ong Chee Seng, 53, was sentenced to 18 months’ jail for voluntarily causing hurt to the 18—year—old.

The incident began when the teenager wanted to meet his friend on September 26, at 8.15am. His 24—year—old sister refused to let him go, and they had a dispute in the kitchen. Her boyfriend heard the commotion and scolded the teen for raising his voice at his elder sister.

About 45 minutes later, the two siblings were still quarrelling. Ong, who is unemployed, walked into the kitchen and scolded the teen in Cantonese.

In quick succession, Ong punched his son’s face and body, then took a 10cm chopper and swung it at the victim, who held up his arms to defend himself. He was hit on the left arm.

Upon seeing this, the sister’s boyfriend rushed forward to stop Ong from further attacking the teen.

The couple took the teenager to a polyclinic, where he was referred to a hospital because of his serious injuries. He underwent surgery in the evening.

His sister lodged a police report three days later upon the advice of the teenager’s school authorities, who arranged for him to be placed in a hostel for safe custody temporarily.

The teenager will need a medical check—up in three months’ time to assess for any permanent disability.

Mr Benny Bong, director of family counselling centre The Family Therapist, told MediaCorp that while this was an extreme case, it is not uncommon that families taking care of special needs individuals will get frustrated on occasion.

"Very few agencies exist to support these children and their families. We need more of these agencies to provide support," said Mr Bong.

He added that families with special needs children should not feel that they have to restrain the children all the time.

They should learn more about the condition of their child and cooperate with schools, which can impart skills for children to take care of themselves.